


for a moment we were able to be still

by onceuponanevilangel



Category: Harlots (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, Friendship/Love, Sharing a Bed, i'm always a slut for blurring the line between friendship and romantic love, margaret and nancy have both been having a rough time, mentions of margaret/will
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-07-07 02:44:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15899298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onceuponanevilangel/pseuds/onceuponanevilangel
Summary: Set between 2x02 and 2x03.The two of them had spent countless nights in the same bed over the years, and despite the traumas of recent events, Margaret felt a familiar kind of peace wash over her, warm and comfortable even though her life was currently quite the opposite.





	for a moment we were able to be still

**Author's Note:**

> "Oh darling things seem so unstable//But for a moment we were able to be still"   
> -No Choir by Florence and the Machine
> 
> I flew through Harlots in less than 3 days and I wasn't expecting to get obsessed with it, but here we are. I love the way that s2 started to develop the relationship between Nancy and Margaret, and I love Nancy in general, so this was kind of inevitable. Apologies for any mistakes, especially when it comes to the dialogue as I'm not certain how well I captured their voices, but I hope y'all like it!

Hours passed before Margaret found herself outside of Nancy’s room. Night had long since fallen and it seemed that everyone else had retired, but Margaret still held her breath as she nudged the door open just enough to lean her head against the doorway.

The light from her candle was just enough to set shadows dancing across Nancy’s sharp features and Margaret felt the tension she had been carrying all day start to melt just the slightest bit.

“If you’re that set on watching me sleep, you may as well come in and make yourself comfortable.”

Margaret startled at the sound of Nancy’s voice, low and tired, but with a hint of her usual spark back already.

“I was just on my way to bed,” Margaret said.

Nancy didn’t say anything, just shifted the slightest bit on the mattress with a wince that Margaret could clearly make out even in the flickering candlelight.

“What on earth are you doing?”

Nancy propped herself up on her elbow and nodded at the empty space next to her. “Get over here you silly cunt.”

Margaret didn’t need to be told twice. She stepped into the room, easing the door shut behind her and setting her candle on the bureau. She barely hesitated settled down next to Nancy, leaving just a little too much space between them, letting Nancy decide how much was enough. The two of them had spent countless nights in the same bed over the years, and despite the traumas of recent events, Margaret felt a familiar kind of peace wash over her, warm and comfortable even though her life was currently quite the opposite.

“How are you feeling?” Margaret asked.

Nancy gave a dry chuckle. “Takes a lot more than that to keep me down.”

Margaret reached out, and her hand found Nancy’s on top of the quilt. She traced her fingers lightly across the calloused skin, and Nancy slowly uncurled her fingers to let Margaret take her hand.

“You alright, Nance?” Margaret asked softly.

Nancy was silent for a long moment.

The stubby candle was hardly any help from its new perch, but Margaret knew the lines of Nancy’s face by heart, and she didn’t miss the way that Nancy set her jaw a little more firmly or how she glanced away to hide the thin film that was appearing over her eyes. She swallowed and then looked back at Margaret with a tight smile.

“I will be,” she said.

Margaret moved their joined hands slowly, gently, and, raised them until she could brush her lips lightly against the back of Nancy’s hand.

“Margaret Wells, are you going soft on me?” Nancy asked, a smirk playing at the edges of her lips.

 “I was _worried_ about you,” Margaret said. “I worry about all of you.”

“Heard you and Charlotte going at it earlier. You alright?”

It was Margaret’s turn to be silent then; she wasn’t quite sure what to say. More than anything she was worried about Charlotte. Margaret and Nancy both knew better than most the horrors that Lydia Quigley was capable of, and Charlotte was throwing herself on the frontlines without any idea what she was getting herself into. But it was more than that too. Margaret was well aware of the fact that she hadn’t always been the mother that her girls deserved, but hearing Charlotte completely renounce her hurt like nothing Margaret had ever felt before.

“She’ll come round,” Nancy said.

“What if she doesn’t?”

“She will.” Nancy’s voice was firm and she squeezed Margaret’s hand lightly. “She may be stubborn as anything, but she’ll come round soon enough. She’s an awful lot like her ma.”

Margaret let out a dry laugh. “Maybe that’s what I’m afraid of.”

Nancy chuckled at that. “Probably the safest bet.”

Margaret hummed in agreement, and then they fell quiet again.

“I miss Will, too,” Margaret said a little hesitantly. “I shouldn’t’ve been so harsh with him.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right about that.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve had a bed all to myself.”

Even in the dim candlelight, Margaret could see the way Nancy’s eyebrow rose.

“You asking to sleep with me, Mags?”

“Don’t be daft,” Margaret quipped. “I haven’t got the money to spare for it.” She started to get up, but Nancy kept a firm grip on her hand and she stopped.

“I suppose since I’m in your house it’s only fair I give you a free night in return,” Nancy said. She smiled, but there was a look in her eyes that Margaret recognized from long ago when they were just girls in Golden Square and they used to sneak into each other’s rooms in the middle of the night to curl around each other just to know that the other was there. It was a look that was equal parts loneliness, longing, and love, and Margaret didn’t have to think twice.

She took off her dress, unlaced her stays, and blew out the candle on the bureau before settling back down on the bed. She kept a little space between them, letting Nancy get as close as she wanted to. Nancy’s movements were slow and careful to keep from angering the wounds on her back, but she settled with her head in the dip of Margaret’s shoulder, their bodies pressed together as they had been countless times before.

“You alright?” Margaret asked, in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

“Yeah, I’m alright,” Nancy breathed as her eyes drifted shut, and for the first time that night, Margaret actually believed her.


End file.
